D does it for Packers

GREEN BAY, WIS. - One can't drive farther than a Bart Starr sneak down Lombardi Avenue without being reminded of how great the Packers were generations ago.

But how much does a young man born in 1983 really know about the history of the Green Bay Packers, BF (Before Favre)?

Let's ask one of them. We'll even pick the current Packers player who helped break a record that had stood from 1966 until Sunday afternoon.

"What do I know about the 1966 Packers?" asked defensive end Jason Hunter. "I don't really know much about them. But they must have been a great team if they scored six defensive touchdowns."

Yes, the '66 Packers were a great team. They went 12-2 and won a little thing called Super Bowl I.

Until Hunter returned a Kyle Orton fumble 54 yards for a touchdown late in Sunday's 37-3 rout of the Bears, the 1966 Packers also had a share of the franchise record for defensive touchdowns. Hunter's was the seventh for this year's team. It's the first fumble return to go along with six interception returns for touchdowns.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Packers' seven defensive touchdowns are tied for eighth best in NFL history. The 1998 Seahawks hold the record of 10. The 1999 Chiefs and 1998 Saints are tied for second (nine), while the 2007 Vikings, 1999 Rams, 1992 Chiefs and the 1992 Vikings are tied for fourth with eight. The 1994 Vikings are among four teams with seven.

"Everywhere you go in this town, you hear about the history of Packers football," Collins said. "It's part of playing for the Green Bay Packers."

Does it ever drive you nuts?

"No, not at all," Collins said with a laugh. "We embrace it."

So what about that 1966 team?

"Maybe a couple of guys on the team know about that team," said Collins, making sure not to tip his hand as to whether he was included. "Right now, scoring on defense is a mindset. It's what those guys did before us in 1966, and we're just keeping the tradition going."

The Packers defense played well enough to beat the Vikings, but not nearly as well as it did in destroying the Bears on Sunday.

Missing middle linebacker Nick Barnett, who suffered a season-ending knee injury the week before, the Packers had their best defensive game of the season, with A.J. Hawk moving from outside to middle linebacker. Hawk tied for the team lead in tackles (seven) as the Packers established season lows for points allowed, total yards (234) and first downs (nine). They also gave up only 83 yards rushing after giving up an average of 199 the previous two weeks against the Vikings and Titans.

"When you lose a guy like Nick, you need the entire defense to step it up, and we did," Hawk said. "I spent a lot of time last week studying Nick and talking to him about the defense."

Barnett gave the credit to Hawk.

"It's a position where you follow the ball, you go to the ball," Barnett said. "He did a great job."

"I think we'll keep getting more," Hunter said. "I guess it's a Packers tradition. We're upholding that tradition, just as our forefathers would have done."